Police arrest one in Pakistan prosecutor murder case

Pakistani police today said they have arrested a 22-year-old law student with links to the Taliban for his alleged involvement in the killing of a top prosecutor who was handling sensitive cases like the Benazir Bhutto assassination and the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.
Abdullah Umar, a student of the International Islamic University of Islamabad and the son of a Pakistan Army officer who was dismissed from service for links with a banned extremist group, was arrested yesterday after an intensive probe, officials said.
Islamabad Police chief Bin Yamin Khan confirmed the arrest of Umar and said police had busted a terrorist network that was involved in several attacks in Rawalpindi and the federal capital.

Other officials said they had uncovered evidence linking Umar to the assassination of prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar Ali in Islamabad on May 3.
Some media reports said Umar was also involved in an attack on a mosque in Rawalpindi frequented by army officers and their relatives.
That attack in December 2009 killed nearly 40 people.

Ali, who was handling the Benazir Bhutto assassination case and Mumbai attacks case for the Federal Investigation Agency, was gunned down by unidentified armed men near his home in Islamabad.
His relatives and colleagues said he had spoken about receiving threats from unidentified persons.
Umar is the son of former Pakistan Army Colonel Khalid Abbasi, who faced court martial in 2003 for links with Al-Qaeda and was dismissed from service, Dawn.Com reported.

The report further said Umar too had links with Al-Qaeda.